Chapter 2

In which Amy Cahill makes her first appearance and a new character is introduced.

Amy focused on the seemingly never-ending train tracks running a few feet to the right of the car. The rusty red roof of the Attleboro train station had come into view not long after they saw the "Entering Attleboro 1694" sign. They now passed slightly run-down buildings in different shades of beige and a few cars scattered here and there. In the background, Amy spotted the spire of a church.

"Amy." Too late, she realized that her name was being called and turned toward the only other occupant of the backseat. "Amy."

"Sorry, what?" she said hastily. Reproachful hazel eyes continued to stare at her. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Stop spacing out on me then! You've been looking out the window ever since we got into the car and barely said a word." Livia Tranc stuck out her bottom lip and gave Amy a forlorn look. "I've been sitting here for two hours, left to die of boredom."

She uttered the last few words with such despair that it brought a smile to Amy's face. It was one of the traits Amy loved about her friend: she could always make people feel better. "I've never heard of anyone who died from boredom," she said thoughtfully. "I've heard, though, that one of the side effects of dramatization is dramatically increased heart rate, which may lead to heart failure, so there may be potential death there."

Livia gave her friend a dirty look. "I'm glad the subject of my death is enticing enough to lure you out of Amy's world." The corners of her lips were turned up, though, as she nudged Amy with her shoulder. "So, what's wrong?"

"Hmm?"

The brunette gave a huff of exasperation. "Hello? Spacing out? Looking out the window? Giving one-word responses when I try to start a conversation? I might not have your brains, but I'm not daft. I know something's bothering you, Amy Cahill, and it's my right as your best friend to know what it is, so just spit it out."

Amy shifted uncomfortably. "It's nothing, really. I just got caught up in old memories."

"Oh," Livia said, sounding sympathetic. "I know what you mean. I feel like every year I grow older, I get more sentimental. I read a book a few weeks ago—"

"What book?" Amy asked hastily.

Livia rolled her eyes at her book-loving friend. "It was chick-lit; you wouldn't know it. Anyways, there was this bit of description about apple trees, and I totally bawled out my eyes over it because it reminded me of the time my parents took my brother and me to this apple orchard. Being city people, we were horrible apple pickers, of course; most of the ones we picked out had, like, brown splotches, and I remember this one that had a worm in it."

Amy was laughing. "Oh, my god, that's a horrible memory."

"Yeah, my mom threw most of them out later, but we had such a blast laughing over it." There was a soft smile on Livia's face. Her eyes flickered to the window behind Amy. "Hey, there aren't any more buildings or cars—not that there were that many before, but it's completely all grass and trees now. Did you not tell me something, Amy?" Amy felt her stomach clench over Livia's stern expression, but then her friend continued with a cheeky grin, "Do your family live in the wilderness, like that outside-y pro-nature family on Survival Expedition—or that family in the book series featuring that Laura girl with the pretzel braid—"

"Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie?" Amy said automatically. Her stomach had unclenched. "Livia! What do you think?"

"I think I don't have the guts to kill a fish with my bare hands. Or eat raw meat. Or sleep in the grass, where there are boa constrictors lurking under—"

"I live in a house," Amy interrupted. "It's just a few miles away from the town and a little farther into the countryside."

"Wait." Livia's expression turned serious. "Do you have wi-fi?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Okay. Good." Livia wiped imaginary beads of sweat from her forehead. "'Cuz, you know, I can't survive for a whole summer without internet, and that's a fact." Suddenly, Livia's eyes widened. "Whoa. Wait, is that your house?"

The car had stopped. Amy looked at the familiar two columns that made up the gate, with a small gold fountain built on each of the capitals. Looming behind the gate was a wide, white manor. It looked exactly like Grace's mansion, which she had spent so many summers at when she was younger, and yet it wasn't. Memories of Grace were built into this replica, and yet this home truly belonged to Amy, Dan, Uncle Fiske, and Nellie.

"That's not a house," Livia breathed. "That's a mansion."

"Does it live up to Livia Tranc's expectations?" Amy teased as the driver opened her door. She stepped out into the sunlight. It was a typical summer day, with a blue, cloudless sky and enough sunshine to promise sweltering heat if one stayed out too long.

As the two girls walked through the gate with the driver unloading their suitcases behind them, Livia linked their arms. It was a natural gesture, and yet as the brunette offered Amy an easy grin, Amy could not help but think about how much she had come to appreciate and rely on her friendship with Livia Tranc.

As they walked up the front porch, Amy hesitated for a second before ringing the doorbell.

"Wait, do you have a butler? And like servants?" Livia asked excitedly just as the door opened and a woman with a nosering appeared.

"Nellie!" Amy cried, throwing her arms around her favorite au pair.

Livia was studying Nellie's blond and pink streaks and nosering with fascination. "I'm guessing you're not the butler. Er, buttress? Butleress?"

Seeing the offended expression on Nellie's face, Amy laughed. "Livia, meet Nellie, my…um…well, Nellie used to be my au pair, but now she's, like—"

"Your adopted guardian," Nellie put in. "Who's a black belt in karate and tae kwon do, and isn't afraid to apply martial arts when she is called a buttress."

"Is she kidding?" Livia said in a stage-whisper to Amy, who was trying not to laugh. "She's kidding, right?"

"Nellie, meet Livia, my best friend," Amy said, still smiling. "And the single most melodramatic person I've ever met."

"Nice to meet you, kiddo," Nellie said. "Listen, I've got to speak with Amy alone for five minutes. Peter, who drove you here, will show you to a guest room and you take as long as you need to get settled."

There was a sinking feeling in Amy's stomach, but she forced a smile for Livia's sake. "I'll be up there in a few minutes."

After Livia and Peter had disappeared, her smile disappeared. "What's wrong? Is Dan okay? Where's Uncle Fiske?"

"Whoa, kiddo. When did you get so panicky?" Nellie said, giving Amy a playful nudge. "Both of them are totally fine. I just got a call from Dan, who just got on the plane for the flight back. He says he'll be here tomorrow morning and to save him some chocolate pancakes."

Amy rolled her eyes, her dread gone. "And Fiske?"

"Fiske is making phone calls for security arrangements at the JFK airport. Ian Kabra's flying over here from London," Nellie said. "You remember him, right?"

"Of course," Amy said, shocked. It had been years, though, since she had last seen her British cousin and that had been the terrible days following Doomsday. He had been understandably distraught over the deaths of his sister and mother, and had flown back to London the first chance he got. She had heard that he had applied into an MI6 program and had quickly become one of its best agents.

"Ian didn't say why he was coming in such a hurry—Fiske says it must be secret enough that he can't say it over the phone. He thinks it's probably related to the Old Cat Head operation."

"Old Cat Head operation?" Amy repeated uncomprehendingly.

Nellie looked at her sternly. "Amy Cahill, have you been following the news?"

"Not recently," Amy admitted, blushing.

"A lot of government agencies, including the MI6, track the buying of uranium, a substance used in the making of nuclear weapons. It turns out that over the past few months, the market for uranium has been extremely busy. MI6 didn't think it was a coincidence and tracked down two men who had been buying quite a bit of uranium in Old Cat Head, a pub in London. The operation was successful and arrests were made, and now there's been a whole lot of speculation about who the men worked for, how they got the uranium, and what they had planned to do with it."

"And you think Ian was involved in the operation," Amy said, her mind racing. "But why would he come here?"

Nellie shrugged. "To talk to Fiske? Despite the fact that he wears flowery pajamas and has a strange fondness for leg warmers, your uncle is the head of the Madrigals."

"But there's no reason for Ian to want to speak to Fiske." Amy's eyebrows stitched together until a realization came to her. "…unless the operation was somehow related to the Cahills."

Nellie snapped her fingers. "Bingo."

"When will Ian arrive?"

"This evening."

"But Livia—" Amy started.

"Won't have the slightest clue that anything strange is going on. You can tell her that Ian is, like, a British cousin who's visiting to learn more about American customs and culture. It's partially true."

"The British cousin part is true," Amy said, grinning. "And the visiting part. If Ian is anything like who he used to be, he doesn't care at all about American culture."

"After dinner, take Livia on a tour of the house, or a stroll outside, I don't know. Or spend hours on Facebook, like I know you guys usually do anyways. Ian, Fiske, and I are going to be in the study, where she doesn't have any reason to be."

Amy frowned. A familiar swirl of emotions was in her chest. "You'll tell me what he says?"

"Of course, kiddo." Nellie gave Amy's ear a playful tug. "Glad to have you back. Fiske and I have missed you, you know."

After giving Nellie one last hug, Amy went up the staircase to find Livia. She felt a mixture of emotions. Excitement, curiosity, and anticipation contrasted with fear, dread, and apprehension. Maybe it would turn out to be nothing—or maybe this summer would turn out to be a lot more hectic than she or Livia could ever have expected.